On yet another mild, dry winter day (will it ever rain again this season?), we visited the neighborhood known as Oceanview, in the southwestern quadrant of San Francisco. This is a densely built neighborhood, with houses close to the street, leaving little room for street trees. Fortunately, the neighborhood benefits from the trees that surround the Millie & Lovie Ward Recreation Center, which fills the block bounded by Plymouth and Capitol avenues and Montana and Lobos streets. The mature Monterey cypresses on the west, south, and east sides of the Rec Center are among the healthiest in the city, undoubtedly due to the extra rain and fog typical in this section of the Alemany Gap.

A delightful surprise, to those of us not from the neighborhood, was the planted median on the long block of Minerva Street, just west of Plymouth; it’s filled with a variety of small trees and palms, flowering shrubs, succulents, and art.

It was encouraging to note that Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) has been planting young street trees throughout the neighborhood, wherever sidewalk space permitted. This is part of a concerted effort on the part of both the city’s Urban Forestry Division and FUF to provide more shade in areas of the city that have typically lacked tree cover. With a warming climate, the importance of trees to provide shade and cool the environment cannot be stressed enough.

Today’s walk begins at the main entrance to the Millie & Lovie Ward Recreation Center at Capitol Avenue (cross is Minerva Street). It heads south on Capitol just past Lobos Street, then returns to Lobos and heads east to Plymouth Avenue, and north on Plymouth. At Minerva Street, the walk heads east up the gentle part of the hill to about midway, crosses the median at the red steps, and returns to Plymouth. It then continues north on Plymouth, west on Montana Street, and finally south on Capitol to the beginning of the walk at Minerva. This walk is about 1 mile in length.

Numbered trees are labeled with common and scientific names and country of origin, all written in white chalk on the sidewalk; accompanying numbers, in blue, run from 1 to 32. White arrows on the pavement provide directions whenever a turn is needed.

Capitol Avenue, Minerva to Lobos, east side

1. Rec Ctr Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), Carmel, CA, native (opposite 545 Capitol; one of the most widely planted conifers in coastal California; mature trees surround the Rec Ctr on the west, south, and east)

2. Rec Ctr Jester conebush (Leucadendron ‘Jester’), hybrid of S African species (corner of Capitol & Lobos and Plymouth & Lobos

Capitol Avenue, south of Lobos, east side

3. 438 Capitol Eureka lemon tree (Citrus x limon ‘Eureka’) hybrid of S Asia species (not commonly grown in SF)

4. 438 Capitol Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), SE USA

**Cross the street carefully**

Capitol Avenue, south of Lobos, west side

5. Corner school grounds Hybrid pōhutukawa in Māori (Metrosideros excelsa x kermadecensis), New Zealand mainland and Kermadec Islands (opposite 438 Capitol; the rounded leaves, relatively few aerial roots, and winter flowers suggest that this tree is a hybrid)

Lobos Street, Capitol to Plymouth, south side

6. 177 Lobos Brisbane box (Lophostemon confertus), E Australia

**Cross the street carefully**

Lobos Street, Capitol to Plymouth, north side

7. Rec Ctr Peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa), SW Australia (opposite 171 Lobos)

8. Rec Ctr Santa Cruz Island ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius), CA’s Channel Islands, except Catalina Island (opposite 171 Lobos; a number of these native trees have been planted on the slope above the sidewalk)

9. Rec Ctr Cajeput tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia), New Caledonia, New Guinea, NE Australia (opposite 159 Lobos)

10. Rec Ctr Holm oak (Quercus ilex), Mediterranean Basin (several trees opposite 151 Lobos; a surprisingly uncommon tree in SF, despite its adaptability to our climate;

11. Rec Ctr Water gum (Tristaniopsis laurina), E Australia (opposite 139 Lobos; this tree grows in stream-side locations in the wild, hence the common name; SF’s most commonly planted street tree)

12. Rec Ctr Bronze loquat (Eriobotrya deflexa, syn. Rhaphiolepis deflexa), S China and Vietnam (opposite 131 Lobos)

13. Rec Ctr Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), SF and CA native; Baja to Mendocino, always within 50 miles of the coast (2 trees opposite 119 Lobos; though native to SF, these specimens are not thriving as well as the nearby Holm oaks)

14. Rec Ctr Marina strawberry tree (Arbutus ‘Marina’), hybrid of Mediterranean species (corner Lobos & Plymouth; first introduced in San Francisco; larger ones are around the corner on Plymouth)

Plymouth Avenue, Lobos to Minerva, west side

15. Rec Ctr Olive (Olea europaea), Mediterranean Basin (opposite 512 Plymouth)

Minerva Street median, east of Plymouth, south side

16. Median Coast blueblossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), coastal S Oregon to CentralCalifornia; a San Francisco native (opposite 554 Plymouth)

17. Median Red-tip photinia (Photinia x fraseri), hybrid (opposite 88 Minerva; more commonly seen as a dense shrub with red new foliage along CA freeways)

18. Median Mexican fan palm (Washingtonia robusta), S Baja & Sonora, Mexico (opposite 85 Minerva)

19. Median Pink melaleuca (Melaleuca nesophila), W Australia (opposite 71 Minerva)

20. Median Giant yucca (Yucca gigantea, formerly Y. elephantipes), Mexico & Central America (opposite 63 Minerva)

21. Median Torch aloe (Aloe arborescens), S & SE Africa (opposite 57 Minerva; though the scientific name suggests that this is “tree-like”, it rarely is more than a big shrub; notable for its reliable flowering during CA winters)

22. Median Mediterranean fan palm (Chamaerops humilis), W Mediterranean Basin: Portugal & Morocco to Tunisia & Italy (opposite 55 Minerva; this is a young specimen that will grow into a low multi-trunked tree; it has the northernmost natural range of any palm in the world)

**Cross to north side of Minerva, using the red concrete steps; watch the traffic**

Minerva Street median, east of Plymouth, north side

23. Median Red escallonia (Escallonia rubra), S Chile and Argentina, all the way to Tierra del Fuego (opposite 30 Minerva; normally grown as a dense large shrub, this one has been pruned into an attractive multi-trunk tree)

24. Median Cabbage tree or tī kōuka in Māori (Cordyline australis), New Zealand (opposite 36 Minerva)

25. Median Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa), Carmel, CA, native (opposite 80 Minerva; this tree is only about 10 years old; compare with the mature trees around the Rec Ctr)

Plymouth Avenue, Minerva to Montana, east side

26. 668 Plymouth African fern pine (Afrocarpus falcatus, formerly A. gracilior), E & S Africa

Montana Street, Plymouth to Capitol, south side

27. Rec Ctr Pussy willow (Salix sp.), California (opposite 136 Montana; the flowers, resembling the paws of a kitten, will appear soon)

28. Rec Ctr Saratoga laurel (Laurus ‘Saratoga’), hybrid of Mediterranean and Atlantic species (opposite 148 Montana; several trees inside the fence; a selected form introduced by Saratoga Horticultural Foundation)

Montana Street, Plymouth to Capitol, north side

29. 158 Montana Angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia ‘Charles Grimaldi’), Andes (tree is across the street, with large pendant, trumpet-like flowers; named for the late, well-known garden designer in SF)

30. 194 Montana Island oak (Quercus tomentella), California’s Channel Islands (a CA native) and Guadalupe Island, Mexico (this young tree represents a new species introduction that should thrive in the city’s climate)

Capitol Avenue, Montana to Minerva, west side

31. 201 Capitol Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), E Asia (though usually grown as a shrub for its beautiful late winter/spring flowers, Japanese camellia is actually a small tree)

32. 601 Capitol After Dark peppermint willow (Agonis flexuosa ‘Jervis Bay Afterdark’), SW Australian cultivar (2 trees in sidewalk pockets; often less vigorous than the green-leafed species; compare with a green-leafed specimen of this species at #7 on this walk)

This tour ends here, across the street from its start at the main entrance to the Rec Ctr.